How do put lights on a model railroad? Using "Pools of Lights"

You may have read about my talking about directional lighting and how this is a good way to light your roads and objects around your model train layout.  I want to talk about something a stage director taught me at a show - it is creating "pools of light”. 

So this man comes up to our booth at a model train show and studies my HO diorama I had lit to show off some of the lights - particularly the Sawn / Goose Neck lamps.  He looked at me and made this rather bold statement "your lighting is perfect".  Can you imagine the quizzical look I gave to him?  

He explained - prototypical lighting does not flood the area, instead it provides pools of light as on a path, or road or wherever you light an area (other than maybe a baseball field).  This is what he requires for stage lighting as well. He said it helps people focus their eyes on the people and objects on the stage.  What's more, as people move into or out of the light, you get a much better sense of movement.

I thought about what he said and remembered how these men digging on my own layout never get noticed with just the overhead lights on.  Just watch them pop when I turn on a single Swan / Goose neck lamp!!  He was right.

So as you can see from the photos, the lighting looks much more real than when flooded using typical LED's.  So, pools of light are the way to go, and fiber optic lighting is the way to make it happen.  

Photo below courtesy of Dave and Martha Bower - using the Dwarvin Highway Lamps to light up a fuel depo.

Make your model train layout come alive with fiber optic lighting from Dwarvin Enterprises.